Brazilian soccer legend Mario Zagallo, 90, left hospital on Sunday where he was treated for 12 days of a respiratory infection, the other legend, his “ami“Pelé, bringing him his”wishesof speedy recovery.
«After difficult days, I am back at 113%. Thank you all for your support“Wrote Sunday on Instagram Zagallo, first world champion as a player, then a coach, whose 13 has always been the lucky number. A source at the Barra d’Or hospital in Rio de Janeiro then confirmed to AFP that he had indeed left the establishment where he had been admitted to intensive care on July 26.
The post, featuring a photo of him thumbs up in a wheelchair, sparked a lot of reactions from the football world, including messages from Pelé and Bebeto.
«All my best wishes, my friend“, reacted Monday Pelé, who played alongside him during the world titles of 1958 and 1962, then under his orders with the legendary Seleçao winner in 1970.
«God bless you always“Wrote Bebeto, Brazilian striker world champion in 1994.
Zagallo well before Beckenbauer and Deschamps
Zagallo was the first to win the World Cup as a player (1958 and 1962), then as a coach (1970), long before the German Franz Beckenbauer (1974 and 1990) and the Frenchman Didier Deschamps (1998 and 2018). He is to date the only one to have taken part in five World Cup finals, only one of which was lost, against France, in 1998, as coach.
During the previous edition, in 1994, in the United States, he was assistant to Carlos Alberto Parreira, during the fourth of the five world titles of Brazil.
But his undeniable masterpiece remains the 1970 World Cup in Mexico: freshly appointed coach, he had led Brazil to its third planetary coronation with spectacular play and a constellation of stars like Pelé, Jairzinho, Tostao, Gerson and even Rivelino.
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